we came. we saw. we ate.

i spent the past weekend with some good friends in a good city. bamako is both the national capital and my regional capital. in theory i am only 20km from bamako, but you have to factor in the public transportation, and you know, the Africa factor, and you get about a two hour travel time from my door to the door of one of my go-to restaurants downtown.

jamie and kat came to me in kati saturday. we spent the day on our computers, talking about our sites, Mali, home, and, of course, boys. we left for bamako sunday morning. the plan was to stay in bamako at the Peace Corps Transit House (the stage house) sunday night and leave monday. we had a few days of errands, chores, eating, and TV to enjoy. we. were. stoked.

after a pretty successful public transportation jaunt into the city (i only almost got run over by a car once, and the sweating was kept to a minimum), our first stop was to eat. obviously. we hit up our favorite spot, Broadway Cafe. Jamie and Kat are pretty darn excited about it. 

i am always being critiqued for not having any pictures of myself online, so here you have it. me, chillin'. 

hello ice and coke, it's been a long time. 

kat, on the phone. 

Patagucci, my backpack named by Sean, who is also enjoying the air conditioning.  

i forgot to take a picture at the beginning of the meal, but here it is at the halfway point. my brother keeps asking for pictures of food. this was a fish burger, vegetables (they were eaten by then) and french fries. so yummy! oh, and that's right, real ketchup!

our check. the monetary system is slightly beyond my comprehension, but here you have actual malian currency! and coins, which can be hard to come by sometimes. (exchange rate: 500CFA= $1) 

my friend the Fourmi, the supermarket to which i buy all my toubab things--tuna, cereal, cookies, dove soap, chocolate, beans...and this trip i bought a dustpan and duster a la Americana, best purchase EVER

HELLO BAMAKO!!

ice cream. SO FREAKIN GOOD. 3 scoops: chocolate, chocolate chip, and mint. in a cone. and the place that sells ice cream, is called ICE CREAM. just so that no one gets confused. 

I scream, you scream, we all scream, run, jump, and ride public transportation to get to ICE CREAM!

i want it again! it was so dang tasty!

CARE PACKAGES! Thank you so much to such a wonderful family who make this Peace Corps experience even better with fashion magazines, books, food, drink mix, candy, new necklaces, and earrings...you guys are all amazing and i will never be able to repay you. just know that i love you and i am the envy of all my fellow PCVs!!! 

the stage house living room. with AC and fans. Hi Jamie and Kat!

watching the tube. currently: Best in Show. 

the stage house is part hostel, part frat house, part your house. this is the dining room table and everyone who is in transit's crap. we all carry a lot of crap. 

this is what a stocked American food shelf looks like! i currently have 5 small nutella jars--let's see how long that lasts me! 

the book list. the bottom was is Portrait of a Lady. I've also added Out of Africa, and The Book Thief  (thanks to savoy who sent it to me!) to the list of things to read. 

more stuff from AMERIKI! Gum, banana grahams, chocolate, new shirt, fashion magazines litter my bed! it's like Christmas!

 

i'm having too much fun! I DON'T WANNA GO TO WORK! I WANNA BE ON VACATION FOREVER!

that was our trip. we ate. we ate ice cream. we tried to go to the fourmi on sunday, but turns out they closed at 1pm and we got there at 1:04pm. figures. so we went to ice cream earlier and headed back to the stage house to hang out and watch tv. we went to the shop around the corner and stocked up on peanuts, coke, and popcorn for the afternoon. i spent the evening watching TV and chatting with other PCVs who wondered in and out of the house on work errands or mid-service medical evaluations. for dinner kat and i went to the chicken place down the block and had delicious chicken sandwiches. then, in true twenty something fashion, we stayed up late watching jersey shore.

seriously. that is what we did until past midnight.

i got to sleep to air conditioning and with 7 other people in bunk beds. hostel style.

in the morning i took a warm shower and jamie and i quickly made our way to the bureau to fetch what we hoped to be massive care packages. and man we found them. my package from my mom weighed 24 pounds! carrying that sucker in the African heat was fun. but so worth it. i also got a lovely stash from my aunt. those are the pictures from above. i'm not fat and happy for a little bit with all this american food. yum-o!

jamie was able to get some more chores done and we had our first dip into yogurt in Africa, which was nice and cold, and continued to try to get to know those around us. in mid morning we finally made our way to the fourmi and yay, it was opened. so there we got lost in a sea of food and beauty products. i got all kinds of goodies--more dove soap, toilet paper, dustpans, lentils, chick peas, tuna, chocolate, salt, and multi grain bread. it was a little excessive, but it's been worth it so far!

well, and since we were out, we had to have lunch. we went down the street to another restaurant, Le Relax. More food. More fries. And then of course, more ice cream.

The makings of a great balanced meal. Duh.

We then made our way back to the stage house. We cooled down and got our things together. Kat had decided to stay with Jenna, another Goodfella, one more night in Bamako, so Jamie and I were heading out. With the grocery trip and the new care packages, I had no idea how in the world i was going to carry all that junk around. so, i did what any spoiled girl would do, i called my service, IEP, and tried to arrange, in French, to have someone come get us. It actually did work and Jamie and i managed to get air conditioned transport door to door. in about a half an hour.

genius move i think.

jamie stayed one more night. we cooked. we chatted. we were online.

tuesday morning jamie was off. it was hot and i felt so bad for her having to travel with all her weight in luggage. but she's a trooper and made it to her site in due time. with a nap at the top of her to do list!

kat stayed another night in bamako and is finally here in kati with me. having friends around has been good for the soul. plus kat as excellent taste in BBC series so right now north and south is on. it's kinda amazing. and it's pushing back my re-entry into my own real world rather nicely. i assume that i will have to spend a full day at work sometime soon. maybe even tomorrow. tomorrow i will work with my teachers, write productive emails, and try to understand what my family is talking about when they watch the news.

but today, today i'm going to eat a little too much, talk about nonsense stuff like fashion and pop culture, wear sweats, and watch tv. today i'm going to pretend i'm not so faraway from my family or friends. today i'm going to nap and not do laundry (that was yesterday) and plan what's for dinner.

it has the potential to be a great evening.

tomorrow. tomorrow i will be productive.

but today is another day. :)